1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a user interface for sharing content, and, more particularly, to a method, apparatus, and system for providing a deep pixel display on a display device.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are various types of displays, such as computer monitors, that are used to display data provided by a computer system or other devices. Often, a digital signal is sent to a display device for displaying various representations of data provided by the computer system. Often, a digital signal is provided by the computer system that may be decoded and used for generating an illustration on a display device. Displays are generally formed from a plurality of pixels, the creation of which is controlled by a computer system or an electronic device to provide various graphical illustrations on the display device. The signal provided by the computer system or an electronic device for the digital display often includes an encoded signal that contains data relating to the definition of various pixels associated with the digital display.
Commonly in the prior art, various signals that provide display data include a maximum of eight bits per color component for a definition of a pixel. There are often eight bits representing a red color signal, eight bits representing a blue color signal, and eight bits representing a green color signal. These bits are sent to the digital display to be deciphered for generating the definition and illustration of a particular pixel on the digital display. One problem associated with the state-of-the-art system includes the fact that the definition of each pixel is limited by eight bits of data per color component. This makes it difficult to efficiently send more detailed color information for the pixels to be displayed on the display devices.
Designers have employed various techniques in an attempt to deliver additional information for the definition of display pixels. However, state-of-the-art solutions are being met with various inefficiencies and problems. Designers have implemented various dithering signals in an attempt to provide greater definition for pixels of a digital display. Dithering methods, such as averaging or truncating various values representing various colors over a period of time have been employed. This time-averaging method has been used to arrive at a particular average color-value based upon the perception of the user's eye. This method relates to temporal dithering of a signal to approach greater definition of a pixel. For example, if a particular pixel has a color-value of five, but a slightly different color-value (e.g., a value between five and six) could provide for deeper definition of a pixel; then for a period of time, a color-value of five may be sent and for a smaller period of time, and a color-value of six may be sent. Therefore, over time, the user's eyes may perceive a slightly different value than the color-value five (e.g., a value between five and six). For example, the user's eyes may perceive a slightly brighter green color as compared to the green color defined by the color-value five. Another prior art technique includes using a dual-signal approach to provide deeper pixel definitions. Other techniques include a spatial dithering technique where an averaging function is performed over a certain amount of space to create a perception of deeper pixel definitions. However, problems associated with this method include limited increase in pixel depth; particularly since these methods only allow for the capability of adding the effective resolution of one to two bits more than the current standard. Further, maintaining a desired resolution for deep pixels is made difficult due to various complexities of performing temporal or spatial dithering. Therefore, there are limitations to the increased pixel definition that may be achieved using various dithering techniques. There is a desire in the industry to achieve greater pixel definition than currently allowed by the implementations provided by the current transmission standards.
The present invention is directed to overcoming or at least reducing one or more of the problems set forth above.